How Old Are U.S. Fathers?

By David J. Landry and Jacqueline Darroch Forrest

One in every six U.S. birth certificates have no information on the age
of the baby's father; for more than four in 10 babies born to adolescent
women, no data are available on the father's age. Information from mothers
aged 15-49 who had babies in 1988 and were surveyed in the National
Maternal and Infant Health Survey indicates that fathers for whom age is
not reported on the birth certificate are considerably younger than other
fathers. In 1988, 5% of fathers were under age 20, and 20% were aged
20-24. Fathers typically are older than mothers, especially when the
mothers are teenagers. Fathers who are unmarried, black or partners of
lower income women are younger than other fathers.